Cultural Issues
Computer Science: OCR GCSE, topic 1.6.14
Positive Cultural Impacts
Technology has positively impacted several areas of society. For example:
Health
- Technology can improve health through:
- Computerised imaging.
- Modelling diseases.
- Artificial intelligence.
Social interaction
- Social networks allow people to connect with long lost friends or family anywhere in the world.
Education
- Online learning platforms provide access to courses at some of the world's best universities for free.
Welfare
- Applying for benefits and other government services online saves time.
- This also saves the government money that can be spent on improving other services.
Work-life-balance
- Mobile devices give employees the freedom to work from anywhere, at any time.
Negative Cultural Impacts
Technology has negatively impacted several areas of society. For example:
Health
- Overuse of technology can lead to issues such as:
- Repetitive strain injury (RSI).
- Eye strain.
- Neck and back problems.
- Lack of exercise.
Social interaction
- Users of social networks can receive an idealised view of others' lives, causing them to feel less satisfied with their own life.
- Cyberbullying and trolling can be distressing and difficult to effectively police.
Education
- Technology is expensive, and poorer schools (especially abroad) cannot afford devices.
- This contributes to the digital divide.
Work-life-balance
- Feeling like work never finishes can result in an intrusion on family time, resulting in poorer relationships and less rest.
- A poor work-life-balance can have a significant impact on the wellbeing of employees and their families.
Fake news
- The main news source for young adults is social media.
- Fake news stories can spread very quickly on these websites.
Test yourself on Cultural Issues
What kind of devices give employees the freedom to work from anywhere?
What is the main news source for young adults?
What effect has social media had on people's satisfaction with their lives?